Italian Fashion Designers - Our Top Six Selection Italian Fashion Designers When compiling a list of top Italian fashion designers, we stopped counting when we reached 60. Here are our picks for the most recognized names in the field today, in alphabetical order: 1. Armani Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani was born on 11 July 1934 in Piacenza. His career began as an assistant designer for Nino Cerruti, but he left in 1970 to work as a freelancer. With a partner, Sergio Galeotti, he established the Armani label four years later. In the 1980s Armani began designing for numerous Hollywood names, which catapulted him to international fame. In 2001, Forbes named him the most successful Italian fashion designer and estimated his net worth at $1.7 billion. Armani was the first designer to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18. He has designed uniforms for various sporting events and has recently opened a restaurant in New York City. 2.

Dolce & Gabbana Domenico Dolce, born in 1958, near Palermo, Sicily, and Stefano Gabbana, born in 1962 in Milan, began as a couple, but separated in 2005. Unlike others in a similar situation, they were able to continue their business partnership and achieve outstanding success with their sleek and stylish clothing designs. They have utilized their celebrity connections to great effect at their runway shows but have been dogged by legal wrangles, including a 2009 tax evasion charge. By 1997, their annual turnover was £400 million, and it topped £597 by 2005, making them one of the most financially successful Italian fashion designers. 3. Ferré Born in Legnano on 15 August 1944, Gianfranco Ferré originally graduated as an architect in 1969 but began designing accessories a year later.

He started his own company in 1974 and launched his first women's collection in 1978, followed by his first men's collection in 1982, and his first couture collection in 1986. Ferré became Stylistic Director of Christian Dior in Paris from 1989 to 1997. Sophisticated white shirts have become the symbol of his personal signature in fashion design. His label offers several lines of men's wear, plus an underwear line, a sports line and a range of fragrances. His range of licensed products now includes shoes, stationery, luggage, home furnishings, perfumes and timepieces. Ferré won a number of prestigious awards during his career, including the L'Occhio d'Oro for Best Italian Fashion Designer six times. 70% of Ferré sales are achieved in export, with the US being the biggest market. Ferré distributes in exclusive boutiques worldwide. Ferré died on June 17, 2007. On June 25 of 2008 the company entered into a worldwide joint venture with Dubai-based GIO Developments. The first project will be erected in Dubai.

GIO Developments will oversee the real estate, construction, management and operations aspects of the projects, while Gianfranco Ferré will oversee content, design and style. 4. Prada Prada was founded by Mario Prada as a leather goods shop in Milan, Italy. After his death in the mid-1950s, Mario's daughter-in-law ran the company for almost twenty years, succeeded by her daughter, Miuccia Prada, in 1970. Miuccia, born Maria Bianchi on 10 May 1949, had a Ph.D. in Political Science but with her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, set about expanding Prada's product line. In 1979 she released a set of backpacks and totes, followed by a nylon tote. A shoe line was released in 1984, the classic Prada handbag in 1985, and a women's wear collection in 1989. Prada's popularity skyrocketed and it became identified with affluent working women who held demanding jobs. Men's ready-to-wear collections were launched in the mid-1990s.

Prada's originality made it one of the most influential Italian fashion designers, and the brand became a premium status symbol in the 1990s. In 1983, Prada began expansion across continental Europe and the US and later Japan. The company went on an ultimately unsuccessful merger and purchasing spree which slowed in the 2000s. Prada manufactures its wares in Italy, apparently keeping labor costs down by using Chinese laborers at the plants. Prada, along with Calvin Klein and Gucci, is known for the practice of casting new models to walk exclusively in their runway shows. An exclusive or opening spot in a Prada show is among the most coveted bookings in the modeling world. 5. Valentino Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, best known as Valentino, was born on 11 May 1932 in Voghera, Lombardy. Valentino became interested in fashion while in primary school when he apprenticed under his aunt Rosa and local designer Ernestina Salvadeo. At 17, he moved to Paris and studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

Later he apprenticed to Jacques Fath, followed by Balenciaga, Jean Desses and Guy Laroche. In 1959 he decided to return to Italy and set up in Rome. Valentino's international debut took place in 1962 in Florence. His first show was a huge success and his designs were suddenly in demand. In 1966, he moved his shows from Florence to Rome, and by the mid-1960s he was considered the undisputed king of Italian fashion designers. In 1964, Valentino met Jacqueline Kennedy, who helped make him a sought-after designer in the USA. Throughout the 1970s Valentino spent considerable time in New York City. 1989 marked the opening of the Accademia Valentino, in Rome, for the presentation of art exhibitions. In 1998 Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold the company to HdP, an Italian conglomerate controlled, in part, by the late Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat. Valentino and Giammetti are renowned for their extensive collection of art.

Valentino owns villas and apartments around the world, all boasting an extensive array of art pieces. He also spends much time on T. M. Blue One, his 152-foot yacht. Valentino: The Last Emperor, a feature-length documentary on the designer, premiered at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival. The film had its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and became the highest-grossing documentary debut of 2009. To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Valentino's career, a fashion extravaganza took place in Rome in July 2007. During the festivities, the Mayor of Rome announced that the site of the Valentino museum would be a building in via San Teodoro. In 2007 Valentino announced that he would retire after his final Haute-Couture show in Paris. It was presented at the Musée Rodin on January 23, 2008. Valentino was presented with the Medal of the City of Paris the following day for his services to fashion. 6.

Versace Gianni Versace (December 2, 1946 – July 15, 1997) was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Versace, an international fashion house which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films. Giovanni (Gianni) Versace was born in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, on December 2, 1946, where he grew up with his older brother Santo and younger sister Donatella, along with their father and dressmaker mother, Francesca. Versace began his apprenticeship at a young age, helping his mother find precious stones and gold braid for embroidering dresses. He studied architecture before moving to Milan at the age of 26 to work in fashion design. In the mid-1970s, his knits drew the attention of headhunters at Genny and Callaghan. Versace presented his first signature collection for women at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. His first menswear collection followed in September of the same year. The first boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978.

He was influenced by Andy Warhol, Ancient Roman and Greek art as well as modern abstract art. Versace was shot dead on July 15, 1997, aged 50, on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion as he returned from a morning walk. Donatella Versace Donatella Versace (born 2 May 1955) is Vice-President of the Versace Group and Chief Designer of the Versace fashion line. She owns 20 percent of the entire stock market assets of the company. In the mid 1970s, Donatella followed her older brother, Gianni, to pursue knitwear design in Florence. Donatella had planned to work for her brother in Public Relations, but she was more valuable to Gianni as a "muse and critic". Donatella was the first designer to use notable celebrities to wear her clothing on the catwalk and in other public media such as advertisements. Donatella soon proved to be the public relations giant within the Versace label and spread its name throughout Europe and the United States.

In July 1998, a year after Gianni Versace was killed, Donatella mounted her first couture show for the Versace Atelier at the Hôtel Ritz Paris. She now oversees the production of a dozen collections each year, but is equally famous for her celebrity friends and extravagant parties. Branching into other fields, the company created the grand, luxurious Palazzo Versace resort on the Gold Coast of Australia. Another Versace development, the world's tallest hotel, the Burj al-Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), features a large collection of Versace furniture and beddings in its expensive and lavish rooms. Plans for the Palazzo Versace Dubai were announced in May 2005. While the Versace Group is not as financially robust as it was in its earlier and peak stages, the Versace Group has publicly made clear that Donatella and Allegra Versace will hopefully bring new life to the Versace label.

Gianni Versace Evening gown worn by Elizabeth Hurley, Spring-Summer 1994, Versace, black viscose and acetate with kilt pin embellishments Gianni Versace (1946–1997) is one of the most colourful and talented designers of the late 20th-century. Versace was born in Reggio Calabria in Southern Italy. His first independent collection was launched in Milan in 1978 and subsequently, aided by the talents of his brother Santo and sister Donatella, he forged the vastly successful Versace empire. Versace became internationally renowned for ultra-glamorous creations as well as spectacular theatrical costumes and innovative menswear design. Versace’s style combined luxurious classicism with overt sexuality. His sensational advertising campaigns featured supermodels such as Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Eclectic and impudent, Versace inspired both respect and outrage. He said, ‘I don’t believe in good taste.’ At the time of his death in 1997, Gianni Versace was one of the most famous fashion designers in the world.

In less than twenty years he had created an international company that put Italy on the fashion map and forged an unrivalled reputation for luxury and glamour. Evening gown, Autumn-Winter 1997/98, Versace, gold-tone Oroton with applied beadwork Versace’s immense drive and singular commitment to fashion resulted in significant achievements. Eclectic and profligate, he showered his clothes with references, forged unlikely alliances of materials and concepts. He combined exquisite dressmaking with a brazen defiance of the rules of fashion. Versace’s couture designs were created for the super rich but his impact was felt across a wider section of society through diffusion lines. Stylistically accessible and instantly recognisable, Versace’s fearless designs came to epitomise the 1980s and 1990s. The Courtyard Versace was determined to enliven daywear. He added risqué factors such as bondage-like fastenings or seductive pleats to superbly crafted suits, created tantalisingly tactile leather garments, and dressed men and women in ebullient prints from head to toe.

The late Richard Martin, of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, wrote: 'His menswear was genuinely revolutionary, insisting on men as sex objects. He became the standard-bearer of gay men’s fashion because he eschewed decorum and designed for desire.’ Combining skilful tailoring with innovative materials, Versace produced clothing that could not be ignored. Coat and belt, Autumn-Winter 1992/93, Versace, padded and quilted black leather trimmed with fox fur and astrakhan, black leather with gilt embellishments Mini evening dress, Spring/Summer 1996, Versace, leather, synthetic tulle, lace, beads & sequins The Ballroom Versace’s fitted, sexy ‘celebrity’ gowns are well known, but he also enjoyed composing traditional full-skirted ballgowns fit for a debutante. He created many evening styles in Oroton, the unique metal mesh ‘fabric’ which he devised in the early 1980s, and manipulated its weight and fluidity to create shimmering carapaces whose liquidity recalls classical draperies.

Versace’s ‘Atelier’ haute couture collection, launched in 1989, was fuelled by his delight in the overstatement. Micro-dresses and tight jumpsuits were painstakingly embroidered in a wealth of sequins, diamantés and metal threads. In contrast, Versace investigated structure and drama in a series of severe black dresses with dual personalities. Plain at the front, they had wickedly plunging necklines and slit skirts at the back. Cocktail dress, Spring-Summer 1994, Versace, silver-tone Oroton Evening dress, Autumn-Winter 1995/96, Versace, vinyl plastic with diamanté and bead embroidery History Versace was a man of inexhaustible energy and enthusiasm. He delighted in all forms of creativity and loved museums, including the V&A. Versace had a deep feeling for his heritage and the role of dress, commenting, ‘I come from a land with a rich history . . . its roots are old, ancient roots, that knew the aristocracy of sculptural draperies.' Versace's encyclopaedic knowledge and respect for the past liberated him.

He achieved an equilibrium between the historical and the modern which, though audacious, was never disrespectful. Evening ensemble, bodice, skirt and belt, Autumn-Winter 1990/91, Versace, black net embroidered with multicoloured silks, sequins and diamantés, satin, duchesse satin and faille printed with various black and white geometric patterns Dress, Spring-Summer 1994, Versace, 'crumpled' tie-dyed silk with machine-made lace Art Versace was an avid collector of 20th-century art, from Picasso to Jasper Johns. He paid tribute to the graphic power of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and appropriated Andy Warhol’s celebrity portraits for his printed dress fabrics. In a playful twist, he adorned a gown with the covers of Vogue magazine demonstrating that his clothing, while it may not have been fine art, could certainly be ‘artful’. Theatre Theatre costume, Versace, 1987, black quilted satin and white satin with black and white applique Versace’s catwalk collections were invariably spectacular and theatrical, and he found commissions (the first in 1982) to create costumes for theatre and ballet irresistible.

These in turn clearly influenced his fashion. Some of Versace’s most notable works were designed for the choreographer Maurice Béjart. The creations met stringent practical requirements and enhanced the dancer’s movements while offering a dynamic visual narrative. Versace looked to the grand masters of fashion drama, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and Schiaparelli, for inspiration for his larger than life theatre costumes. Acknowledging his allegiance to the performance arts he said, ‘For me the theatre is liberation.’ Donatella Donatella Versace has been described as Gianni Versace’s muse, and he referred to his sister as his ‘perfect woman’. Her critical and artistic contribution to the Versace label cannot be overestimated. Donatella joined the family company in the early 1980s and became responsible for accessories and ‘Versus’, the youth-orientated diffusion line. She became artistic director after Gianni Versace’s death in 1997. Donatella brought a younger, harder edge to Versace which complemented Gianni’s classicism.

She said, ‘I like to play with power when I do clothes – to play with power and with fun.’ With her high-profile life, Donatella has helped to define the brand of Versace. Gianni said of her: ‘Donatella’s strength is that she makes everything she touches modern.’ Career highlights Italian Fashion Italian Fashion Italian Fashion By Valerie Steele and Gillion Carrara During the Renaissance, Italian city-states such as Florence were centers of fashion innovation. For centuries thereafter, however, Paris dominated the world of fashion. Of course, fashions were produced in Italy during that time, but they were usually derivative of French styles. Only since the 1950s has Italy achieved its own independent identity as a source of fashionable clothing for the rest of the world. Influence of the Italian Look The emergence of the "Italian look" drew on important historical advantages, such as the existence of fine craft traditions in textile production, luxury leather goods, high-quality tailoring, and other trades crucial to the fashion system.

The artistic textiles and garments of Mariano Fortuny were well known internationally in the decades before World War II, as were the superb men's woolen suiting fabrics woven by Ermenegildo Zegna and fine accessories made by Ferragamo and Gucci. Still, it is symbolic of Italy's relative invisibility on the international fashion scene that Italy's most famous prewar designer, Elsa Schiaparelli, was based in Paris. Modern Italian fashion first came to international prominence with the rapid post-World War II war reconstruction of the textile industry and the rise of ready-to-wear clothing production, as Nicola White documents in her important book Reconstructing Italian Fashion. The postwar rise of Italian fashion was not accidental. A number of Italian manufacturers, with the support of the Italian government, made a systematic effort to create an export-oriented fashion industry that would play a significant role in Italy's postwar economic reconstruction. Beginning in 1949 fashion shows designed to emphasize Italy's heritage of art and culture were staged to capture the attention of foreign journalists. In July 1951 a pivotal fashion show in Florence attracted almost two hundred American buyers and journalists, along with another hundred from Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

Soon journalists and department store buyers attending the Paris fashion shows began to take the train down to Florence. There, fashion presentations were conceived, in part, to cater to the demand for creatively constructed, well-made ready-to-wear combining distinction and informality, adapted to the American fondness for sunny weather and colorful, affordably priced garments. Originally, the Italian alta mode (couture) houses also showed in Florence, but soon the couturiers for a variety of reasons began to show instead in Rome, where many of them were members of Roman society. There they organized and presented their own singular creations for la dolce vita. American journalists enthusiastically promoted "the Italian Look," identifying it with casual yet aristocratic elegance. Italian designers were said to have a special knack for resort wear; capri pants, sandals, gold jewelry, and chic sunglasses were essential elements of Italian style. Italian fashion offered an appealing (and less expensive) alternative to the more formal Paris couture. Italian Fashion and Film The commercial and cultural relationship between Italy and America played an important role in the postwar development of Italian fashion. One manifestation of this was the close connection between the worlds of film and fashion.

For example, the Fontana Sisters, who had opened their couture house in Rome in 1944, became closely associated with Hollywood glamour. Ava Gardner wore Fontana dresses in the 1953 film The Barefoot Contessa. Other film stars, including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kim Novak, wore Fontana Sisters evening dresses, and Margaret Truman was married in a Fontana Sisters wedding dress in 1956. Also important in the glamorous world of film was Emilio Schuberth, who was born in Naples in 1904 and opened a couture house in Rome in 1938. Among his clients were Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren. Italian Designers Emilio Pucci entered the fashion business in 1948 and quickly became known for his kaleidoscopic textile designs, which were made up into "featherweight" jersey scarves, shirts, and other separates. Pucci helped establish the reputation of Italian designers for easy, comfortable, body-conscious clothing. His brightly colored fashions were part of a broader range of Italian products, such as Vespa motor scooters and Olivetti typewriters, that became icons of modern style.

By the early 1960s, it was clear that Italy had changed the way the world looked; the word "Italian" had become synonymous with "good design." Another important Italian designer was Roberto Capucci, born in 1930, who opened his own atelier in Rome in 1950 and quickly gained a reputation as a master of both silhouette and color. Capucci approached his work as an artist, pleating and manipulating fabric into fluid, sculptural forms. Probably the single most important and successful Italian designer to emerge during the 1960s was Valentino. Valentino Gavarni studied couture in Paris before opening his own alta moda house in Rome in 1960; his career now spans more than four decades. He designs both ready-to-wear and couture, and is known for his fondness for brilliant red fabrics. His opulent gowns have appealed to many celebrities, from Sophia Loren to Gwyneth Paltrow, but his most famous client was Jacqueline Kennedy, who wore a lace-trimmed Valentino dress for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis.

The Italian Look that had such a profound impact on women's fashions extended to men's wear as well. Even before World War II, Italy had an international reputation for the highest quality bespoke shirts and men's accessories. By the 1950s, tailoring firms such as Brioni created the "Continental look" in menswear. Italian tailors created luxurious, body-conscious suits that offered a clear alternative to the dominant Ivy League look of American men's wear and the traditional styles of London's Savile Row. The persistent, unresolved competition between Florence and Rome, each with its own schedule of fashion shows, contributed to the rise of Milan, which emerged in the 1970s as the center of Italian fashion for both men and women. Some of the most innovative Italian houses, including Krizia and Missoni, shifted their collections to Milan, as did the influential stylist Walter Albini, who designed for several different firms that showed in Milan, as well as producing clothing for his own label. A northern Italian industrial city, Milan lacked the historic allure of Rome and Florence, but was able to draw on the established Italian tradition of fine textiles. Textile producers in northern Italy provided financial backing to Italian clothing manufacturers who showed in Milan.

Moreover, Milan was known for modern product design, and Vogue Italia had been published there beginning in 1961. The rise of a ready-to-wear clothing industry was a natural consequence of these circumstances. Two designers in particular rose to prominence and worldwide fame in this milieu: Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace. Armani revolutionized men's wear in the 1970s, creating unstructured jackets that were as comfortable as sweaters and that radiated an air of seductive elegance. Armani's clothes were prominently featured in the 1980 film American Gigolo; by 1982 his picture was on the cover of Time magazine. His women's wear was also characterized by an easy elegance and luxurious minimalism. Meanwhile other Italian firms long known for fine fabrics and superb workmanship, such as Ermenegildo Zegna, also benefited from the rise of Italian tailoring to a position of world leadership from the 1970s onward. Very different from Armani was Gianni Versace, who founded his own label in 1978.

Where Armani emphasized understated luxury, his rival Versace grounded his designs in an aesthetic of flamboyance and display; he produced, for both men and women, some of the most sexually expressive clothing ever made within the mainstream of fashion. After Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997 in Miami, his sister Donatella became the company's head designer. Having collaborated closely with her brother for many years, she was able to build on his aesthetic, while also making her own contributions to the Versace style. Popular music, for example, had always been a passion of Gianni's, but became even more central to Donatella's style. Her body-revealing and consciously outrageous dresses, worn by top singers and actresses, became by the early 2000s an eagerly awaited feature of the annual Oscar and other entertainment business award ceremonies.

Franco Moschino was overshadowed commercially by Armani and Versace, but his witty send-ups of the fashion system were popular with women who wanted to be seen as stylish but not as "fashion victims." Other important Italian designers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries include Romeo Gigli; Gianfranco Ferré; knitwear designer Laura Biagiotti; and Renzo Rosso, founder of the irreverent sportswear firm Diesel. Among the most remarkable success stories of Italian fashion in the late twentieth century are the revival of Gucci under the direction of the American Tom Ford, the rise of the firm of Prada, and the impact of Dolce & Gabbana. After Miuccia Prada took charge of her grand-father's small, respected leatherwear firm in the 1980s, it burgeoned into an international phenomenon in accessories, shoes, and clothing. Her first big success was a black nylon backpack with a triangular silver label that became a must-have cult item among fashion-conscious women. By the mid-1990s, Prada bags and shoes were setting the international standard for cool.

Meanwhile, Gucci, founded in the 1920s as a leather-goods firm, and famous among jet-setters in the 1960s, had lost prestige until its reinvention in the 1990s as a source of ultrasexy fashions and accessories. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana founded Dolce & Gabbana in 1982, and skyrocketed to fame with fashions that recall the sex-bomb stars of 1950s Italian cinema. Italy as a Fashion Capital Italy's success as a center of modern fashion derives in large part from a uniquely Italian model of the fashion industry, quite different from that in other countries. It is immediately apparent, for example, that the family unit remains an important feature of the Italian fashion system. Craft traditions also remain strong. At the same time, the most up-to-date technology is readily available. While a handful of star designers from Milan and Rome attract public attention, hundreds of anonymous but highly trained creative talents work at family firms and large companies throughout the country. A skilled workforce is available both for factory employment and in small-scale production by independent contractors.

Florence, Rome, and later Milan have all been important fashion centers, but the geography of Italian fashion is widely dispersed, and different regions of Italy specialize in different materials and goods. In addition to the regional segmentation of production in specific geographic areas known as "the Districts," the Italian fashion system is also characterized by the vertical integration of production from fiber to finished product. The Italian fashion system in the early 2000s integrates state-of-the-art production of modern apparel, relaxed tailoring, luxury leather goods and knitwear, and research into new modes of design and production together with thread, yarn, and fabric innovations. Italian style is characterized by understated luxury and modernism, as well as glamour and sensuality. Fashion designers in Italy are not considered "artists" so much as skilled workers within an industrial system. One of the dominant characteristics of the Italian fashion industry is its interdisciplinary nature: the seamless blend of product development, new materials and technology, new communications methods, celebrity, tradition, and art.

Since the Biennale di Firenze in 1997, which included a city-wide exhibition that posed the relationship between art and fashion, further opportunities of this kind of convergence have been created; for example, the Fondazione Prada in Milan has an exhibition policy of promoting contemporary art. Nothing could be more representative of a designer's aesthetic spirit than a flagship store. In 2000, Prada Group hired the eminent architect Rem Koolhaas to conceive of new and technologically innovative retail spaces for the presentation of products in new and ultra-modern ways. And, as Guy Trebay wrote in the New York Times, Carla Sozzani, proprietor of Corso Como 10 in Milan, presents Italian and international luxury brands in a "true theater of commerce." Italian fashion has evolved to supply the market with styles based on both the latest technology and traditional craftsmanship. Designers concur that imagination, research and experimentation are the basis for the Italian Look. Bianchino, Gloria, et al. Italian Fashion. Milan: Electa, 1987. Gastel, M. 50 anni di moda italiana. Milan: Vallardi, 1995.

Giacomoni, Silvia. The Italian Look Reflected. Milan: Mazzotta, 1984. Malossi, Gino, ed. Il Motore della moda. Florence: Monacelli Press, 1998. Menkes, Susy. "Are Italian Designer Brands Having an Identity Crisis?" International Herald Tribune, 1 March 2000. Steele, Valerie. Fashion: Italian Style. New Haven, Conn., and London: Yale University Press, 2003. Trebay, Guy. "Fashion Diary; A Model and Her Traitorous Stilettos." The New York Times, 5 March 2002. White, Nicola. Reconstructing Italian Fashion: America and the Development of the Italian Fashion Industry. Oxford: Berg, 2000. Was this page useful? Roberto Cavalli Fashion Designer Information - 2nd Take Home A Designer Take Roberto Cavalli Fashion Designer Information Roberto Cavalli Fashion Designer Information Roberto Cavalli is best known for his bohemian glamour, cutting-edge and animal print designs.

Roberto Cavalli Fashion Designer Biography Roberto Cavalli is an Italian-born Fashion Designer, who is well known for his flamboyant designs. Also known as ‘KING OF EXCESS’, Roberto is the father of the sand-blast jeans, and founder of the Roberto Cavalli fashion house. Early life of Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli was born on 15th November 1940, in Florence, Italy. Roberto is the son of Marcella and Giorgio Cavalli. His mother was a tailor and his father a mine surveyor. Young Roberto grew up in a creative and artistic environment. In 1957, young Roberto enrolled at the Florence Academy of Art, in Italy and studied textile design. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, who is a celebrated impressionist painter. Roberto experimented with fusing fashion and painting at the academy. From there he pursued fashion design, rather than arts. In 1960, Roberto was requested to prove the artwork for a knitwear line for a friend. The merging of painted art and fashion became an instant hit, loved by local fashionistas.

In the same year Cavalli met Silvanella Giannoni, his first wife. Inspired by his friend’s knitwear collection, Cavalli began to produce his own line of T-shirts and Jeans. Many fell in love with the new and trending “luxie-hippie look”, created by the aspiring fashion designer. Roberto married Silvanella Giannoni in 1964, with whom he has two children. Roberto and Silvanella divorced in 1974. Career Roberto Cavalli had his Fashion breakthrough in the early 1970s. Cavalli introduced his first and revolutionary themed women’s wear collection, making use of innovative printed leather. In 1972, the fashion designer opened his first boutique, in Saint-Tropez, France. Cavalli showcased his collection in Paris, at the salon for Pret-a-Porter. His designs earned him commissions from fashion giants, such as Pierre Cardin and Hermes . The Italian fashion designer launched his first men’s wear collection in 1974. In 1977, Roberto was asked to be a celebrity guest judge for the Miss Austria beauty pageant. Eva Duringer, his current wife, was a contestant.

Roberto married Eva Duringer in 1980. They couple have three children together. During the early-1980s, the fashion conscious community likened Roberto Cavalli to the late Gianni Versace. In 1994, Cavalli introduced sand-blast jeans, at the Milan Fashion Week. He partnered with Lycra and started a new era of denims, stretch-jeans, in 1995. In the late 1990s, Cavalli hired a management team to work with retailers in America, such as Bergdorf Goodman. Roberto Cavalli launched a clothing line targeting youth, called Just Cavalli in 1998. Roberto opened another elegant clothing store at Madison Square, New York in 1999. Within the same year, Cavalli re-launched his men’s wear line and two years later, his sales had tripled in the United States. Further boutique stores were opened in 1999. In 2002, the flamboyant fashion designer was presented with the Fashion Group, Designer of the Year Award.

In the same year, Cavalli opened his first Café, in Florence and launched his first fragrance line and further boutique stores. Things didn’t go so well in 2003, when Cavalli appeared in court for charges of tax fraud. In 2004 his company turned over 150 million US dollars. Trademark Roberto Cavalli is well-known for his animal print designs and tailoring, reminiscent of bohemian glamour and seductive cuts. His fashion designs are of cutting-edge and make Roberto a designer of substance and style. Present The Italian fashion designer collaborated with numerous female musicians, including Christina Aguilera, The Spice Girls and Jennifer Lopez, designing their show costumes. In 2008, the Roberto Cavalli indulged his love of art, by creating limited edition bottles for Diet Coke. Cavalli was awarded with a Honorary Master Diploma in Fashion Management, from the Domus Academy, in June 2013. He has worked with many high-profiled models like Mariacari Boscono, Karolina Kurkova, Eva Riccobono, Natasha Poly, Jessica Stam.

Gianluca Brozzetti, CEO and Carlo Di Biagio, COO of Roberto’s fashion house announced their departure in 2014. Today, the 76 year old is living a lavish lifestyle and also owns a restaurant in Milan and a chocolate factory in Florence.

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 Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store Roberto Cavalli fashion brands available at the 2nd Take franchise store “I think God is the most fantastic designer.” Roberto Cavalli 2nd Take is the largest consignment second-hand online clothing retailer in South Africa with boutique shops in Cape Town, Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

2nd Take stocks exclusive designer brands and high street labels, often not available for purchase anywhere else in is now available as low cost Franchise nationwide in South Africa. For further information on 2nd Take, please contact us on 021 434 5878 or e-mail franchise@2ndtake.co.za. Send article as PDF

Question: Which Italian designer was famous for his leather garments and leather trimmed knitwear in the 1980s?
Answer: GIANNI VERSACE